The Mighty Dead : Why Homer Matters

Description

Where does Homer come from? And why does Homer matter? His epic poems of war and suffering can still speak to us of the role of destiny in life, of cruelty, of humanity and its frailty, but why they do is a mystery. How can we be so intimate with something so distant? In this passionate and deeply personal book, Adam Nicolson sets out to explain why these great ancient poems still have so much to say about what it is to be human, to love, lose, grow old and die. 'The Mighty Dead' is a journey of history and discovery, sewn together by the oldest stories we have - the Iliad and the Odyssey, which emerged from a time before the Greeks became Greek. As nomadic tribes of the northern steppe, they clashed with the sophisticated cities of the eastern Mediterranean. These poems tell us how we became who we are. We witness a disputatious dinner in 19th-century Paris and Keats finding in Chapman's Homer the inspiration to travel in the 'realms of gold'.
We go to Bosnia in the 1930s, with the god of Homer studies Milman Parry where oral poetry still thrived; to Spain to visit the possible site of Hades; to Troy, Ukraine, Syria and the islands of the Mediterranean; and to that most ancient of modern experiences, the open sea, in calm and storm. Reflecting on fathers and sons, men and women, on the necessity for love and the violence of warriors, on peace and war, youth and old-age, Homer is the deep voice of Europe, as dark as Mavrodaphne and as glowingly alive as anything that has ever been.show more

Review quote

'[A] brilliant, passionate, world-wandering love letter to Homer ... If the only real test of any book about Homer is that it should make you want to go back to Homer, then 'The Mighty Dead' passes that test in a blaze of glory' Sunday Times 'Nicolson dusts down Homer for a new generation. Superbly written' Daily Telegraph 'The book that was waiting to be written ... a superbly written account of the poems' The Times 'Thrilling and unsettling ... [a] wonderfully expressive alloy of travelogue, scholarship and advocacy, which broods with heartfelt grace ... Nicolson's books always shine with the Homeric virtues of eloquence, passion, generosity, audacity and candour ... He does them proud' Boyd Tonkin, Independent 'A hosanna to Homeric wandering and wanderlust ... breathes new life into an ancient adventure' Observer 'A beautiful study: full of insight, generosity and unaffected passion. The writing is exhilarating' Guardian 'A thrillingly energised book ... it transmits a whole worldview at once decipherable and dramatically strange ... To read Homer is to be struck by what Nicolson calls 'time-vertigo' - and this book is one that holds your hand and encourages you to peer over the edge. To read it is to have a fat pair of Homeric jump-leads attached from Nicolson's sparkling and crackling faculties to your own' Spectator 'As gripping as a thriller and as delicately constructed as a sonnet ... an astonishing tour de force that reveals Homer to be at once as ancient as papyrus and as modern as MTV ... Not only does he have an inward understanding of how Homer's poetry works, his own prose also has the sharp glitter of a poet's eye' Telegraph 'Erudite, far-ranging in time and space, and provocative ...This rich and adventurous book is Nicolson's own odyssey ... [his] enthusiasm is enriching and his examination of the character of the two epics acute and fascinating. Homer matters because he can stimulate books such as this' Literary Reviewshow more

About Adam Nicolson

Adam Nicolson writes a celebrated column for The Sunday Telegraph. His books include Sissinghurst, God's Secretaries When God Spoke English, Wetland, Life in the Somerset Levels, Perch Hill, Restoration, and the acclaimed Gentry. He is winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and the British Topography Prize and lives on a farm in Sussex.show more